Siegel's Heirs Regain Action Comics #1 Copyright

This is, of course, huge. Truly, truly huge.

Time and time again the story of Siegel and Shuster has been the absolute cornerstone of all that is right at the beginning of the American Comic Book Myth to the casual American public, and all that is wrong, for those in the know, with American Comic Books. The Siegel and Shuster story makes them the ultimate"fuck you" martyrs to all artists.

And now that's changed. A little, but miles better than it ever was. It doesn't take away the lifetime of virtual poverty that existed until 1977 however.

After seventy years, Jerome Siegel’s heirs regain what he granted so long ago – the copyright in the Superman material that was published in Action Comics Vol. 1. What remains is an apportionment of profits, guided in some measure by the rulings contained in this Order, and a trial on whether to include the profits generated by DC Comics’ corporate sibling’s exploitation of the Superman copyright.

The NY Times has a write-up, as does Uncivil Society, where I took the above paragraph. Required reading for everyone.